Common Sense Media Review
Inspiring intro to the baseball great's life.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 6+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Sandy Koufax was one of the greatest left-handed pitchers in professional baseball but even die-hard fans might have missed him. YOU NEVER HEARD OF SANDY KOUFAX?! introduces kids to Koufax's career from his start with the Dodgers as a rookie with a fast arm to his tenure as the pitcher no one could beat -- not even Mickey Mantle. Along the way the author shares tidbits of baseball history through tossed-off anecdotes and embedded charts.
Is It Any Good?
Koufax's story is inspiring, and author Jonah Winter relates it easily using a friendly, colloquial voice ostensibly belonging to one of Koufax's unnamed teammates. The tone makes You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?! a fun read-aloud for adults, and the picture book format gives even reluctant readers an easy way to get a lot of baseball history and stick-to-it inspiration in one sitting.
But what really makes this book a knockout are Andre Carrilho's highly stylized illustrations. Detailed with gold foil, the pictures manage to look modern while capturing the retro mood of the story. The heavy shadowing accurately imparts the drama of Koufax's story and the smooth swirl of graphite curves helps create movement, which is appropriate for a sports story.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?! deals with antisemitism in professional sports during Koufax's reign. How have things changed since then?
What does it take to be great in sports? Is talent enough?
Can you think of other sports legends who struggled at the beginning? Look up the other baseball players mentioned throughout the book.
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Sports
- Topics : History
- Character Strengths : Courage , Integrity , Perseverance
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Random House
- Publication date : February 24, 2009
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 4 - 8
- Number of pages : 40
- Available on : Paperback, Hardback
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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